Middle School Director Tray White will be leaving Latin for the coming academic year to accept an appointment as Head of Intermediate and Middle Schools at Francis W. Parker School. Kathleen Meade, currently Latin’s Middle School Assistant Director, will serve as Interim Middle School Director for the 2025-26 school year.
On March 31, an email from the Head of School’s office announced the departure to the community. “We thank Tray for his time at Latin, and offer our deepest gratitude for his leadership,” it stated.
Mr. White said he hopes his departure will open opportunities for new voices in the Middle School. “I think it’s time for newer leadership to step in and really take a lot of the work that’s been done in the last couple years and use that information to really forge out a path and future for the Middle School,” he said.
Teachers learned of the transition shortly before it was announced publicly. Sixth Grade Team Leader Jayanthi Annadurai said, “We’re still processing. It’s pretty new—he’s been here a year and a half, and we’ve made a lot of great steps forward.”
These steps were an intentional part of Mr. White’s leadership, especially as the successor to former Middle School Director Deb Sampey, who occupied the role for 29 years. Mr. White described his purpose at Latin: “Be a part of doing some processes better—maybe bring in a new kind of fresh perspective or idea to things that we do every single day to support students,” he said.
As Mr. White transitions to Parker, he returns to a school with which he has significant experience, having previously served as Middle School Dean of Student Life from 2018-21. In fact, the chance to work at Parker again was a large part of Mr. White’s decision to transition.
“Parker was integral and really essential to me developing and deepening my understanding of what progressive education is,” he said. “A lot of the tenets of progressive education really resonate with me and have really formed my identity as an educator and as a leader.”
Progressive education is deeply intertwined with Parker’s history. The school’s founder, Colonel Francis Wayland Parker, was even referred to by contemporaries as “the father of progressive education.” Broadly, the term refers to a type of education that focuses on developing individual students as citizens and people, as well as learners.
Latin has historically featured more of a traditional liberal arts education, but Director of Academic Affairs Ash Hansberry noted that Latin today has a lot in common with schools that are known for a progressive education model. “A lot of those things, like caring about the whole child, caring about their health and their mental wellbeing just as much as their academic success, experiencing things—those are just best practices now,” they said.
Although he returns to educate under Parker’s progressive model, Mr. White says the Middle School’s new administration will stand strong in its unique values. “I think that the greatest challenge in front of schools right now is staying committed and staying grounded to what they believe in,” he said. “I think all schools share that.”
Middle School faculty members are optimistic that, with new voices in leadership roles, Latin can continue to grapple with these challenges, even as Mr. White departs. Middle School language arts teacher Max Melgarejo said, “I think it always can be exciting to have a new administration just because you have an opportunity to have a clean slate.”
Mr. White said he will miss engaging with Latin’s Middle School community. “It’s been a treat to get to know so many of the kiddos,” he said. “To work with all of the faculty in the Middle School over the last couple years to just create the best learning environment for kids—I’m going to miss that a lot.”
He added, “I don’t know if I’ve worked with a team who cares as much about Latin being at its best as [the faculty] do.”
